Knowledge(skill)
All knowledge skills have a primary function - identifying creatures, objects, and devices. Each knowledge skill represents a general category, something like an academic department at a university. Certain feats and class features allow you to use successful knowledge checks to gain mechanical bonuses against your opponents in a combat, in addition to the tactical advantages of knowing a monster’s mechanical strengths and weaknesses. Finally, each knowledge skill has specific uses in its general “field” that can affect the game world. Identification As a swift action, you can make a Knowledge check to identify a creature. The base DC for identifying a creature is equal to 10 + the creature’s level/Challenge rating; a successful check gives you a general idea of the creature’s special powers. For each 5 points by which your Knowledge check exceeds the DC, you can ask a specific question about one of the creature’s defenses or special attacks (such as a numerical value, or which defense is weakest). When identifying creatures we're going to use the following modifications: 1) Assign the creature a rarity. This is how frequently the creature can be expected to be encountered in the region where it normally lives. The DC is 10 for very common, 15 for somewhat common, 20 for occasionally encountered, 25 for rarely encountered, and 30 (or more) for very rarely encountered. 2) Modify this DC based on how familiar the person making the check is with this creature's home region, based on where they are from, and what they've encountered or studied in the past. This modifier can be 0 (from the same region, or have at least studied that region), +5 (the creature is from an "adjacent" region to the identifier's home region), or +10 (the creature and identifier are from regions very "remote" from each other). If a creature is particularly "famous" or "legendary", you might also modify the DC by -5 (local fame) or -10 (world wide, or even multiversal, fame). 3) Lower the DC based on how dangerous the creature being identified is. Divide the creature's CR by 2, and subtract this from the DC. This cannot lower the DC by more than 10, regardless of the CR of the creature being identified. I think this modifier should be based on an adult version of the creature, in the case of creatures whose CRs dramatically vary with age (like dragons). Then we make the check, and measure relative success. If you beat the DC by: 0-4 You know the creature's type, what plane it is from, and anything that is a signature ability for that creature (breathe weapon for dragons, Feed for barghests, etc). You also know if its CR is above, below, or about the same as your character level. If the CRs are different by 4 or more for the base creature, the DM should tell you that, also. If the creature is a humanoid or something that commonly takes levels in classes to gain more power, you should also know this. Of course, you won't know whether this creature has class levels. 5 to 9 You know if it has a subtype and any other resistances or immunities. 10+ You know what other abilities the creature has (basically you know everything in the basic monster's stat block). 15+ You know about this specific creature (if applicable). For example, you might recognize "Bob the wizard-slaying dragon", who is known to make extensive use of the Antimagic Field spell, and has trained in ways to prevent other creatures from fleeing from him (has Improved Trip and the Snatch feat). Retry: You may make one retry after you've seen a creature use a special ability of some kind. Being bathed in acid by a black dragon's breathe has a way of jogging your memory. Wink Examples: 1) Bob the farmer sees a big, giant, red lizard fly overhead (a red dragon). The DC is 15 (Dragons are occasionally encountered in Bob's world. He's from Dragonlance.) - 7 (CR 15/2: adult red dragons are really freakin' scary, and are things that tales are retold of endlessly), with a -5 to the DC for familiarity (dragons play significant roles in the history of Dragonlance, and as such are famous worldwide, however Bob doesn't live in a region that any call home), for a total DC of 8. So Bob can take 10 and identify the thing as a red dragon, unless he is in combat with it (or more likely running away in terror from it's frightful presence). He can't tell you anything useful about how to fight a dragon, though. 2) Fizban the fabulous, the local hedge wizard, also sees the dragon. He is level 5, and has 8 ranks in Knowledge: Arcana, and he's studied about dragons. His Int mod is +4, so he has a +12 to ID the dragon, and no familiarity penalty. He can take 10 (beating the DC by 10) and tell you that red dragons are creatures of fire, that they have a terrible breathe weapon composed of it, but that they are also especially vulnerable to cold-based attacks. 3) His master, Archmage Yoda, would say "Oh yeah, that's old Scar. He's an arrogant bastard who loves to mix things up in melee, but has a pitiful selection of spells. He does know "Resist Elements", though. So you probably shouldn't use a Cone of Cold against him, though. Synergy bonuses Listed below are the available synergy bonuses: Arcana (Spellcraft}, Architecture and Engineering (Search for secret doors), Creaturelore, Geography (Profession - Guide), History (Bardic knowledge), Local (Gather Information in locality), Nature, Nobility and Royalty (Diplomacy), Religion (varies based on Religion), Planar (Survival in outer planes), Technology (Tinkering). There are a variety of synergy bonuses that a character can gain through the knowledge skill. Listed above, next to the type of knowledge, are any skills in which the character receives a synergy bonus when they have 5 or more ranks in the knowledge. In some cases, the synergy may not be to another skill, but to an ability. Arcana (Int) covers magic and spellcasting, along with technology based on or powered by magic. Identification: Creatures with the Dragon or Outsider type. Application: Uses of the Arcana skill generally revolve around identifying or designing magical effects. Identify effect: You can identify a magical effect by observing it (a move action) and making a successful Arcana check (DC equal to 10 + the caster level required to create the effect). You can identify an item in the same way. Effects that can only be activated by Legendary creatures add +2 to the DC. Locate effect: You can identify the center of an area effect by observing it (a move action) and making a successful DC 15 Arcana check. Design effect: You can design magical items. Engineering (Int) covers buildings, structures, and mechanical technology. Identification: Creatures with the Construct type. Application: You can identify faulty structural or mechanical engineering. If you examine a Medium-sized or smaller device for 5 minutes, you can identify faults or sabotage in the device. A Large device must be examined for 15 minutes, and a Huge or larger device must be examined for an hour. DCs are outlined below. You can repair a fault in a structure or device; or, if it’s a particularly large structure or device that would require more than one person’s work, you can at least figure out how to repair the fault and explain to others how to fix it. The DC is equal to the DC for identifying the fault +2. You can design a new mechanical device or advanced structure. Any implementation of your design requires GM approval. The DC is equal to identifying faults in a similar device +5. Sabotage: The Engineering DC is equal to the Perception DC for detecting sabotage (the result of the Disable Device check made to sabotage the device). You cannot normally use the Engineering skill to trace sabotage as with the Perception skill. DC 10: You can identify faults in a basic mechanical device, such as a horse-drawn wagon. Structurally, you can identify faults in a livestock barn. DC 15: You can identify faults in a more complex mechanical device, such as a well-built crossbow or (if your setting has them) a double-action revolver. DC 20: You can identify faults in a highly complex mechanical device, such as a pocket watch or a self-propelling ship. Structurally, you can identify faults in a suspension bridge. DC 25: You can identify faults in the body parts of a golem or other construct. Structurally, you can identify faults in large or particularly mobile structures, such as a submarine. DC 30: You can identify faults in the decision-making cortex of a golem or information terminal. You can identify faults in programmable or autonomous structures, such as a hovercar. DC 35: You can identify faults in truly massive or complex systems, such as a flying city. Geography (Int) covers exactly what it says on the label, including places where no one has gone before. Identification: Creatures with the Elemental type. Application: You can use the Geography skill to locate special routes, recognize strange places, and anticipate hostile areas. In short, Here There Be Dungeons. Also Dragons. Examples follow. DC 10: Travelers through the mountain road are often harassed by bandits. On one cliff, overhanging the road, villagers and caravan drivers alike have seen lights flicker and then go out. DC 15: The forest’s trees grow in a unique pattern that allows elves to set up platforms high above the ground. These particular elves believe that “not-elves” are divinely ordained to serve as target practice, so caution is warranted. DC 20: The best way to reach the mountain fortress without aggravating the local giant population is to travel through a strangely-shifting network of ice tunnels. Somehow, you have a very good idea of which turns to take through the tunnels. DC 25: The old dwarven forge left lasting marks on the mountain. Somewhere in the mine tunnels, there is a dimensional overlap with the Plane of Elemental Fire. DC 30: Several map fragments suggest that a cluster of massive gems can be found deep inside a tunnel network within the Plane of Elemental Earth. In point of fact, there is an entire city carved out of emeralds. DC 35: The emerald city is secretly ruled by a dragon illusionist – and his hoard is. History (Int) is, as any dictionary will tell you, the discipline of knowing what happened in the past, and if you’re lucky, why it happened. In a world with powerful monsters and heroes alike, knowing the past is an important key to the present and future. Identification: Creatures with the Legendary type. Application: You can come up with the details of someone or something’s past. Identifying and recognizing a creature with the Legendary type, an important political figure such as the king or general of a large country, or historical details of a large city is done at the DCs given below. Identifying a significant, but less well-known individual or smaller city can be done at +2 DC. Identifying the past of a minor official or large town increases to +5 DC. An obscure individual or small town can be identified, but the DC is at a steep +7. DCs can be decreased at the GM’s discretion if your character has some kind of local experience or knowledge. DC 10: You know the king’s name, and the names of the queen and their parents. DC 15: You know the locations of a general’s major battles. DC 20: You know the wizard’s favored spells - or, at least, the ones he’s used in public. DC 25: You know what the king’s secret adviser has been doing behind closed doors. Maybe even the rumored glimpses of a scaly, gem-studded hide. Alternatively, you know where to find the wizard’s old and trusted apprentice. DC 30: You know the identity of the children who played a crucial part in the lich’s transformation. DC 35: You can activate a legend lore effect on your target. This functions in all ways like the spell, except there are no material costs. Medicine (Int) covers the anatomy and physiology of creatures, including methods of putting them back together. It works best on creatures of the same type as the prospective medic; any attempts to use Medicine on a creature of a different type are made at a -5 penalty. Any attempts to use Medicine on a creature of a different size are made at a -2 penalty per size category difference. Identification: Creatures with the Humanoid or Undead type. Application: Attempting to heal someone with the Medicine skill requires spending the required period of time in relative safety. If the medic or the person being healed are successfully attacked and damaged during the medical procedure, the attempt automatically fails. Specific time costs and DCs fall under each task. Heal creature: You can restore the health of a creature with 0 or more hit points with 8 hours of care and a successful DC 10 Medicine check. A successful check heals 2 points for each level the patient has. You can increase the amount healed or decrease the amount of time required by meeting a higher Medicine DC, as detailed below. At each 5-point increment, you can also choose to use both of the improvements available at the previous increment (so a DC 20 check enables you to heal 3× your patient’s level in 4 hours). DC 15: Increase amount of healing to 3× patient’s level, or reduce time required to 4 hours. DC 20: Increase amount of healing to 4× patient’s level, or reduce time required to 2 hours. DC 25: Increase amount of healing to 5× patient’s level, or reduce time required to 1 hour. DC 30: Increase amount of healing to 6× patient’s level, or reduce time required to half an hour. DC 35: Increase amount of healing to 7× patient’s level, or reduce time required to a single 5-minute rest. DC 40: Heal 8× patient’s level, or reduce time required to a standard action for you and a move action for the patient (both actions must be spent in the same round’s time, and you must spend your standard action first). You must be adjacent to your patient when you spend your standard action. DC 45: Use both of the DC 40 improvements. Remove ability damage: You can double the rate of natural ability damage regeneration with a successful DC 15 Medicine check. Stabilize dying creature: You can make a dying creature stable with a standard action and a DC 20 Medicine check. Revive unconscious creature: You can revive a creature with fewer than 0 but more than -10 hit points to 0 hit points with 1 minute of care and a successful DC 15 Medicine check. Remove harmful condition: You can remove a harmful condition, other than ability damage, affecting a patient with a successful Medicine check. The DC is equal to the save DC of the effect that inflicted the condition. The time required is based on the duration of the condition; a duration measured in rounds requires a full-round action, a duration measured in minutes requires a minute of care, a duration measured in hours requires an hour of care, and a condition measured in days or longer requires eight hours of care. Revive dead creature: You can revive a creature that has been dead for no longer than 1 hour per level with an hour of effort and a successful DC 30 Medicine check. You can revive a creature that has been dead for no longer than 1 day per level with an hour of effort and a successful DC 35 Medicine check. Creatures who have been dead for longer than that can be revived at the GM’s discretion, but the DC may be even higher. Nature (Int) covers the knowledge of the environment and how to get through it without being eaten. Identification: Creatures with the Animal, Magical Beast, or Plant type. Application: You can identify environmental hazards of various sorts with enough time to make basic preparations to protect yourself and your allies. The DC increases based on the difficulty of identifying the hazard and the rarity of the hazard. The threats posed by each hazard are explained in Chapter 8. DC 10: Thunderstorm. DC 15: Flash flood. DC 20: Tornado. DC 25: Earthquake. DC 30: Surprise eruption of a long-dormant volcano. DC 35: Magically-induced natural disaster. Tracking: You can track or locate a creature with a successful Nature check. DCs scale up for more difficult tracking situations and for more unusual tracking capabilities. DC 10: Undisturbed tracks in moist (but not muddy) soil. DC 15: Tracks that have been trampled or disturbed. DC 20: Tracks that have been washed away by a storm. DC 25: Damaged grass left by halflings on the run. DC 30: Disturbed air currents left by a fleeing pixie. DC 35: You can activate a scrying effect on any pool of liquid or reflective surface crossed by your target. The scrying will target your intended quarry and functions exactly as the spell. A su ccessful tracking attempt allows you to follow a creature that is not using the Stealth skill. If the creature is within your line of sight, you may then immediately locate it. If the creature you are tracking is using the Stealth skill, you gain a +5 bonus to your Awareness defense against that creature’s Stealth check. Category:Skills